ROTH CONTRIBUTIONS AND RMDS: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

Dec 26, 2019

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst

Question:

Hi Ed,

Hope all is well. I have a client that received the HEART benefit as her spouse passed away a few years ago. We immediately moved those dollars into a Roth for her. My question is, as we are doing some year-end planning, can I add to this Roth by doing a conversion, or do I need to open up a separate Roth for her?

Answer:

The HEART Act allows a beneficiary of military death gratuities to contribute those funds to a Roth IRA. The Roth contribution can be made without regard to the annual contribution or income limits. The contribution must be done within one year from the date of receipt of the death benefit, and HEART Roth IRA funds do not need to be kept separate. Future contributions and/or conversions can be added to this same Roth IRA.

Question:

Can you please confirm which RMD table should be used for a client who husband was taking RMD’s and passed away 10 years ago; as the surviving spouse and within 10 years of his age and the only beneficiary; she rolled the IRA into her name. Can you please clarify what table should be used for her RMD’s?

Thank You

Sean

Answer:

Sean,

Since the surviving spouse did a spousal rollover, the assets are treated as if they were always in her name. As such, she would use the Uniform Lifetime Table to calculate her RMDs based on her own age and life expectancy.